Retractable brush holder



March 21, 1967 D. A. SEAVER RETRACTABLE BRUSH HOLDER Filed Feb. 17, 1965 United States Patent Ofifi ce 3,309,728 Patented Mar. 21, 1967 3,309,728 RETRACTABLE BRUSH HOLDER Donald A. Seaver, West Chesire, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 433,417 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-184) This invention relates to a retractable brush holder, and more particularly to improvements in a swivel-type container to extend the advantages of the usual swiveltype lipstick holder to a cosmetic brush.

Prior attempts to use swivel-type holders for brushes have had some serious objections. When the bristles are mounted in the usual carrier cup, they will be alongside the slots in the inner shell and cam sleeve of the usual swivel-type lipstick holder and thus very liable to being caught up or tangled in the slots.

Another fault arises from the fact that the brush being somewhat longer than the normal lipstick, will project considerably beyond the container even in the fully retracted position so that there is nothing for protecting the bristles against damage.

My invention solves both of these problems with the combination of an elongated ferrule on the brush which reaches to the upper ends of the slots in the swivel container, together with a sleeve extension secured to a portion of the inner shell projecting above the outer shell. This not only serves as a sheath or guard for the bristles, but also as a convenient means for operating the device.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purposes of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view with the cover in place;

FIG. 2 is a side View with the cover removed;

FIG. 3 is a central vertical section on a larger scale with the brush retracted and cover in place; and

FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, with the cover removed and the brush projected.

As in one type of swivel lipstick holders, there is an outer shell 5 which is closed at the bottom and open at the top; a cam sleeve 6 firmly fixed inside the outer shell; an inner shell 7 and a carrier cup 8. The carrier cup has a lateral pin 9 projecting through the vertical slot 10 of the inner shell into engagement with the spiral slot 11 in the cam sleeve.

The inner shell has an upper end portion 12 projecting above the outer shell, and secured to this portion 12 is a sleeve extension 13 which is enlarged at the bottom as indicated at 14, so as to abut the upper edge of the outer shell 5. The upper end of this sleeve extension 13 is further reduced in diameter as indicated at 15, so as to shield and confine the bristles 16.

The bristles 16 are fixed in an elongated ferrule 17, the bottom end of which is snugly fitted into the carrier cup 8. This ferrule is long enough to extend into the vicinity of the upper end of the slots 10 and 11 so as to shield the bristles from such slots when the carrier cup is fully retracted in the inside shell as shown in FIG. 3. Due to the length of the ferrule 17, to shield the bristles from the slots, the bottom ends of the bristles need not extend to the bottom of the ferrule, but only to some such line as indicated at 18.

It will thus be seen that with this relatively simple construction, I have provided an improved brush holder having the advantages of the swivel-type lipstick container while at the same time, overcoming the objections formerly experienced with such containers used to hold a brush.

The container maybe closed by the usual form of cover 19 which is frictionally fitted upon the sleeve extension 13. For purposes of economy, the cover 19 and the outer shell 15 are identical in construction and therefore, interchangeable with each other.

What I claim is:

A retractable brush holder in the form of a swivel type container comprising (a) an outer shell having a closed bottom end and an open top end;

(b) a cam sleeve fitting tightly inside said outer shell and having a spiral slot exetnding substantially throughout its length;

(c) an inner shell fitting loosely in said cam sleeve and having a vertical slot substantially co-extensive in its vertical dimension with said spiral slot;

(d) a carrier cup inside said inner shell and having a pin projecting through said vertical slot into engage ment with said spiral slot;

(e) a brush having an elongated cylindrical ferrule and bristles anchored in and extending axially from the upper end of said ferrule, the bottom end of said ferrule fitting snugly in said carrier cup, the length of said ferrule being suflicient to shield said bristles from said slots when the carrier cup is fully retracted in the inside shell;

(f) said inner shell extending a substantial distance above said outer shell; an extension sleeve secured to the upper end of said inner shell, the bottom end of said extension sleeve being enlarged into an alignment with the upper edge of said outer shell, said extension sleeve projecting almost to the end of said bristles when the carrier cup is 'fully retracted and being of somewhat reduced diameter in its upper end portion to confine said bristles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1866 Herr 1s-1s4 5/1890 Riley 15 1s4 FOREIGN PATENTS 400,051 10/1933 Great Britain. 

